ghostx110x's Full Review: A Ghost Is Born by Wilco
It was not until I witnessed the absolute spectacle of Wilco perform live (at the brand-spanking-new House of Blues in my hometown of Cleveland, OH, no less) that I truly realized what an amazing band these men are.
"That...that was too intense."
These were the words muttered by the Almighty Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy a few moments after breaking a few strings while ripping apart the thunderous rock section of "At Least That's What You Said" with a fiery guitar solo. This was the moment. These guys are effing Gods.
It's a semi-rare occasion when Wilco unleash upon us their life-affirming brand of hard rock upon their listeners. Their fifth effort, A Ghost Is Born, is in fact mostly a quiet album. The album opener, the aforementioned "At Least That's What You Said," displays the best of both words. The first two minutes of the song are based around quiet guitar picking and a gentle piano. Around the 2 minute mark, however, a few distorted guitar notes sear through the calm like a knife through warm butter. The rest of the song is a thunderous classic rock jam session, with excellent performances by all involved.
Perhaps I gave the wrong impression at the start. Wilco are not a hard rock band. They often are thrown under the label of "alt-country," which really only fits their debut album, the underwhelming AM. The third track on Ghost would shatter all notions that this band is indeed "alt-country." "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" is a pulsing monster of a song, stretching over 10 minutes with it's repetetive, mechanical beat and some of the most f***ed-up guitar work you'll ever hear. Remember those hard rock moments I was telling you about? They're here, too. "Kidsmoke" also boasts a few sections of all out rocking, occuring and at unexpected moments during the song.
Wilco haven't lost all of their country flavor, however. The perfect piano-pop of "Hummingbird" sports a nifty little violin solo at the end, which is backed by some buzzy guitars courtesy of Master Tweedy.
I'm not giving enough credit to the rest of the band, it seems. The only man I've mentioned is Tweedy, who is indeed the mastermind behind this amazing album, but there are other very gifted hands at work here also. Wilco's line-up has gone through many changes over their existense, with only Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt being the only remaining original members, as well as drummer Glen Kotche. Guitarist Nels Cline and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone round out the current line-up, which has changed since the recording of the album. At the time of Ghost Wilco was Jeff Tweedy, John Stirrat, Glen Kotche, Leroy Bach, Mike Jorgenson.
Before I conclude this review I must mention the album's sole flaw. This is the track "Less Than you Think." The song itself isn't bad at all, a quiet ballad with some nice keyboard action. It's the last 12 1/2 minutes of the song that shouldn't be there. After the song concludes, the band decided to tack on a gigantic arc of noise to conclude the track. It does nothing but grow louder as these painful minutes roll by, and then takes another four to fade back out again. It's pointless, it's boring, and it hides the album's nice little closer "The Late Greats." Perhaps if there was some more varition, I wouldn't dislike this part as much as I do, but as it is, it's essentially just one big long single tone.
This flaw is absolutely forgivable, as it is surrounded by such a wealth great songs. A Ghost Is Born is Wilco's masterpiece, if you ask me. Give it a listen, and be blown away.
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